My Favorite Games of Ludum Dare 37

02 Jan 2017

With the final hours of LD37 coming to a close (10 hours left while I was writing this) I figured I’d recap some of my favorite games.

Ludum Dare, for those who don’t know, is a game jam event where participants make a game in a weekend. At the start of each Ludum Dare a theme is given out and all the games made should use the theme as inspiration. This jams theme was One Room. There are two different categories in which participants can enter which are the Jam and the Compo. The Compo is the strict form of competition. You have to work solo, make all the art, sound, and programming from scratch, and you only have 48 hours to do so. The Jam on the other hand is a lighter event. You can work as a team, can use some pre-made assets, and have a whopping 72 hours to finish.

Now that you know a bit about Ludum Dare let’s get to the awesome games. Just a note that this list is in no way a full look at all the awesome Ludum Dare games. Somewhere around 1,500 games were created but I only managed to play around 50. So in no particular order here are my favorite games of Ludum Dare 37.

Room-Fate

This game is simply beautiful. Room-Fate is an adventure game where you get a glimpse inside the life of an individual living in a small room. The game uses clever focus to lead you through the many ups and downs of this person’s life while letting you interpret what has really happened. I love the ascetic and atmosphere this game creates. I’m not entirely sure why but I felt this game was very emotional without saying a lot.

Death Room

Death room is a game where you control a tire and run over alien bugs. The art in this game is very polished and crisp. What I liked most about it was the feeling of controlling the wheel. It has weight and an unstableness about it that makes the controls feel very solid.

0.25

0.25 is a very weird title that matches the game perfectly. This game is a surreal first person puzzle game in which the room you start in expands and grows as you play. There seemed to be a lot of thought put into the puzzles and ideas in the game. The art style is a blend of spacey colors that almost give you a since of vertigo in some situations. This is one game I highly recommend playing.

Starlight

Starlight has you waking up in a mysterious spaceship that seems to be broken down. The ship seems to have a feeling of abandonment as you boot up the old computer. Starlight is a first person adventure game where you search the environment to solve puzzles and uncover what has happened. It tells a nice story with a great twist at the end.

Dungeon Slimes

I recommend this game solely on the fun and witty story. Dungeon Slimes is a basic hack-n-slash but is filled with great writing. You’ll want to play this game to the end just to see all the great story bits hidden inside.

Cozy Christmas Village

This could very well be my favorite game of the Ludum Dare. It’s so Zen and addicting that I ended up playing it for at least an hour (which is a long time for a jam game). Cozy Christmas Village is a city building game where you use toy pieces on a table top to build your village. Seeing your wonderful pixel village become populated with tiny figures is super fun. I highly recommend this game.

Fish

Fish is probably the most innovative puzzle game I saw in this jam. You swipe fish that interact in different ways to lead your character out of the water. I enjoy the simple mechanics of this and would love to see a full mobile release of it.

Rent for 30 seconds

Rent for 30 seconds is a flat building game where you play as the land lord of a small little rest area. You need to balance the fun, food, and comfort of your guests to keep the business going. This is a fun little game that reminds me of a quick version of Prison Architect.

Smallest Dungeon

The Smallest Dungeon has the best sound track I’ve heard this jam. You control the powers of 4 characters as they fight in a dungeon. It has a fun upgrade system. While the game play isn’t the strongest this game is worth a play for the music alone.

Me, Myself And The Room

Me, Myself And The Room merges the movement of Myst and the writing of Stanley Parable in a wonderful experience. As you navigate the lo-fi film grain room the narrator tells you about their life and meaning of the room. There are many funny moments and 4th wall breaking interactions that give this game so much personality. I would fully enjoy a complete game is this style.